Coleman makes pitch for Romney

Aug. 29, 2012

TAMPA, FLA. — Former Sen. Norm Coleman told Minnesota GOP convention delegates today they could help make a difference in the country’s direction by working for the Republican presidential ticket this fall.

Speaking to a room full of supporters of Texas congressman Ron Paul, who had sought the party’s presidential nomination, Coleman said he understood those delegates’ displeasure regarding rule changes that they see as manipulating the delegate selection process to favor establishment candidates. In the end, though, he said they were all Republicans and this presidential election was too important for them to sit on the sidelines.

“You have a chance to tip the scales for the good,” Coleman said. “You got to think about this.”

Coleman, president of American Action Network, a center-right Washington think tank, said elections have consequences. Failure to elect former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, who officially will become the Republican presidential nominee Thursday , could have long-term negative consequences for the nation’s economy.

Romney, Coleman said, has 25 years experience in the private sector and helped grow hundreds of thousands of jobs. That experience is what the nation needs, Coleman said, to fully recover from the worst recession in decades.

“It’s up to you,” Coleman said. “We can’t win without you.”

The last time Minnesota voted for a Republican presidential candidate was in 1972, the longest drought in the nation.

Speaking to reporters afterward, Coleman said he has been advising Romney on foreign policy and will be playing a surrogate role for the Romney-Paul Ryan ticket.

The 40th Republican National Convention, Coleman said, “creates a huge opportunity for Americans who do not want to see Barack Obama re-elected to get to know Mitt Romney. Clearly, Romney is in a great position. He’s got to seize the opportunity.”

Following Coleman, the Minnesota delegation got a surprise visit from Sen. Marco Rubio, a rising GOP star from Florida.

Rubio said he was “proud of the diversity of ideas” within the Republican Party. But, he added, while opening the tent to others the party has to stay true to its core principles of free enterprise and limited government.

“We don’t appeal to others by ignoring our principles or changing them,” Rubio said. “Our challenge is to tie the principles of limited government to their dreams.”